Wednesday, July 31, 2013

My opinion: I'm glad that Dr. Ludwig explained this clearly - I've always wondered if eating too much fruit could be bad, but it seems as if there might be no such thing. Even if there is, I doubt it would be as dangerous as fruit substitutes, for example, fruit juices and fruit gummies. A decent portion of fruit juice, like apple juice, contains the sugar of numerous apples, but provides much less nutrition than the actual apple itself. Also, since simple sugars tend to be added to juices and snacks, it probably gets into the blood stream more quickly and is therefore a greater promoter of diabetes. I remember the first time I tried natural lemonade - I couldn't believe how much less sweet it was than what I bought at the store! Do most people understand this about processed fruit products? And should we stop drinking fruit juice, or are some brands incorporating more nutrients into it? Feel free to comment.

Making the Case for Eating Fruit

Experts agree that we are eating too much sugar, which is
contributing to obesity and other health problems. But in the rush to
avoid sugar, many low-carb dieters and others are avoiding fruits. But
fresh fruit should not become a casualty in the sugar wars, many
nutrition experts say.
Dr. David Ludwig, the director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity
Prevention Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, said that sugar
consumed in fruit is not linked to any adverse health effects, no matter
how much you eat. In a recent perspective piece in The Journal of the American Medical Association,
he cited observational studies that showed that increased fruit
consumption is tied to lower body weight and a lower risk of
obesity-associated diseases.
Whole fruits, he explained, contain a bounty of antioxidants and
healthful nutrients, and their cellular scaffolding, made of fiber,
makes us feel full and provides other metabolic benefits. When you bite
into an apple, for example, the fruit’s fiber helps slow your absorption
of fructose, the main sugar in most fruits. But fiber is not the full
story.
“You can’t just take an 8-ounce glass of cola and add a serving of
Metamucil and create a health food,” Dr. Ludwig said. “Even though the
fructose-to-fiber ratio might be the same as an apple, the biological
effects would be much different.”
Fiber provides “its greatest benefit when the cell walls that contain
it remain intact,” he said. Sugars are effectively sequestered in the
fruit’s cells, he explained, and it takes time for the digestive tract
to break down those cells. The sugars therefore enter the bloodstream
slowly, giving the liver more time to metabolize them. Four apples may
contain the same amount of sugar as 24 ounces of soda, but the slow rate
of absorption minimizes any surge in blood sugar, which makes the
pancreas work harder and can contribute to insulin resistance; both
increase the risk for Type 2 diabetes.